SIGN OUR PETITION: Canadian Federation of Students Must Rescind Discriminatory BDS Motion
Join Hasbara Fellowships Canada, B’nai Brith Canada & AEPi in denouncing BDS
Nov. 20, 2018
On Friday, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) voted in favour of a resolution endorsing the discriminatory boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which has had a damaging effect on Jewish and pro-Israel students across Canada – and the world.
The resolution is clearly in contradiction of the Federation’s own Issues Policy where it opposes discrimination based on “place of origin, ethnicity, or citizenship.”
As Jewish students representing B’nai Brith on Campus, the student-run division of B’nai Brith Canada, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), the country’s largest Jewish fraternity, and Hasbara Fellowships Canada, a leading pro-Israel campus organization, we urge fellow students from across the country to join us in calling on the CFS to rescind this discriminatory decision.
To sign our petition, click HERE.
Last week, during his apology to the Jewish community over the systemic antisemitism pervasive in Canadian society in the early-mid 20th century, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to “BDS-related intimidation on college and university campuses” having a pernicious effect on Jewish students, reiterating a House of Commons motion condemning the movement that passed with overwhelming support in 2016.
BDS has been consistently linked to violence, harassment and discrimination. Its leaders have been caught red-handed advocating for terrorist organizations like Hamas, which openly supports the murder of Israeli civilians, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, while many BDS activists have been found promoting antisemitic tropes and slogans under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
As such, and on behalf of concerned students across the country, we ask the CFS why it chooses to ignore the countless cases of where BDS lead to the harassment or discrimination of Jewish students on campus, including:
- Jewish students at McGill University were insulted with antisemitic slurs after a BDS resolution was endorsed;
- a University of Toronto student was accused of being an “Israeli government agent” by his history professor, a BDS activist;
- A pro-BDS student threatened violence and intimidation when he asked his Twitter followers to “punch a Zionist”;
- Carleton University students were physically intimidated and even subjected to homophobic slurs after opposing BDS;
- a University of Windsor student politician’s office was defaced with antisemitic graffiti in relation to a BDS referendum at the university;
- anti-Israel rallies at universities from across the Canada (like York University) that have led to the harassment, discrimination or physical intimidation of Jewish students on campus (or worst).
Furthermore, by implementing a clause that will use student fees to pay for pro-BDS resolutions, students supporting human rights will now be forced to pay fees that will go toward solidarity movements hell-bent on destroying Israel.
Jewish students should not have to pay, or support, destroying Jewish self-determination on their ancestral lands.
Marlee Socket, Hasbara Fellowships student activist, Ryerson University
Josh Benjamin, B’nai Brith Canada Campus Advocacy Coordinator, McGill University
Eliran Penkar, Brother, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), Dalhousie University
CONTACT:
Robert Walker
Executive Director
Hasbara Fellowships Canada
rwalker@hasbarafellowships.org
647-460-4248
